Chapter 12: Girls Carrying Grand Dreams!
The adjutant's forehead instantly broke out in a fine, cold sweat. He opened his mouth, his face etched with difficulty as he struggled to organize his words.
"If you weren't pirates, the bounty wouldn't be a problem. But now that you've openly declared yourselves as pirates... according to naval regulations, this bounty... absolutely cannot be paid to pirates. That would be equivalent to funding the enemy!"
He glanced at Zoro and added, "Originally, Mr. Zoro, as a Pirate Hunter, could have claimed this portion of the bounty. But now he's... joined your crew. So, I'm truly sorry, rules are rules."
"Rules?" Ralph sneered coldly, his gaze sharpening. He stepped forward; though shorter than the adjutant, the battle-hardened aura he exuded made the other man feel suffocated.
"Difficult?" Ralph's voice carried a dangerous edge. "If it's difficult, then don't bother!"
His eyes swept over the naval soldiers with complex expressions and the bolder townsfolk watching from a distance. Raising his voice to ensure everyone could hear, he declared, "Don't think that because we dealt with Morgan and saved this town, we're some kind of pushovers! Pirates are pirates! We act based on profit and mood!"
"What if I release Alvida and the others right now? Or turn this naval base upside down? It wouldn't cost us anything! Then let's see what matters more—your 'rules' or this town that just found peace!"
The adjutant's face turned pale then flushed. He knew the other spoke the truth. In the face of absolute strength and "notoriety," so-called rules seemed utterly powerless. Gritting his teeth, he finally compromised:
"Wait! Please... don't be rash!"
Under Ralph's threat, the adjutant reluctantly agreed to let them take Alvida's large ship and the valuables on board.
Thus, in a subtle and tense atmosphere, Ralph, Luffy, and Zoro once again boarded the pirate ship that belonged to Alvida.
They had arrived as three and were leaving as three—only the pink-haired chubby guy was replaced by a green-haired swordsman.
The ship slowly sailed away from Shells Town's port, leaving behind the naval base that had just weathered a storm and the complicated human affairs.
On the deck, as the newest member, Zoro held his three beloved swords and began carefully "scrutinizing" the seemingly utterly unreliable "pirate crew" he had just joined.
He looked at the straw-hat girl, excitedly hopping at the bow, shouting "We're setting sail!" to the sea, and couldn't help but complain, "What's this?"
"Always talking about becoming the Pirate King—I thought she'd be something impressive, but she's just a fight-crazy crazy girl?"
Hearing the complaints, Luffy wasn't bothered at all." Instead, she pointed at herself confidently, "I can't do anything! But we have Ralph!" She then pointed at Ralph, who was adjusting the sails. "He's our temporary ship cook! He's amazing!"
"Co... cook?!" Zoro's eye twitched. An extremely ominous premonition surged in him, and he almost shouted out loud.
"What use is a cook! We're heading to the Grand Line! That devil sea known as the 'Graveyard of Pirates'! What we need is a professional navigator! Without a navigator to guide us, we'll get lost and die in there!"
He didn't want to starve to death in some unknown stretch of sea before even becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
Hearing this, Luffy blinked her large eyes and turned to look at Ralph who was steering the ship. Full of anticipation, she asked: "Ralph! Ralph! Do you know navigation? Can you be our navigator?"
While feeling the feedback from the ship's wheel, Ralph replied: "As for navigation... I know a little."
He wasn't lying. The [Basic Navigation] skill he obtained from the Foosha Village residents allowed him to handle sailing along known routes in the East Blue without much trouble.
"Great!" Luffy instantly cheered, her eyes sparkling, "We have a navigator now! This means we can go straight to the Grand Line! Hehe~"
Seeing her completely unclouded smile, Ralph couldn't bear to disappoint her, but some facts needed to be made clear. He sighed and poured cold water on her excitement.
"Lufia, don't celebrate too early. My navigation skills are just 'basic.' Relying on sea charts and fundamental knowledge, I can manage sailing around the East Blue. But the Grand Line... its climate, ocean currents, and magnetic fields are all completely chaotic—it's a sea that defies common sense. At my current level, I'm afraid it would be difficult to safely get us in, let alone navigate through it."
"Eh—?!" The smile instantly vanished from Luffy's face. Like a deflated balloon, she collapsed onto the deck, limbs splayed out, weakly moaning: "How can this be... then what should we do... I'm hungry..."
Looking at the disappointed Luffy, Ralph didn't feel much regret. This wasn't because he didn't want to impress Lufia, but because he had made new discoveries and considerations regarding his system usage.
During his battle with Morgan, he had pushed his body beyond its limits, continuously using [Soru]. Though it caused immense pain, when he later checked his system interface, he found that the skill description for [Six Powers—Soru] had changed from (Basic) to (Intermediate)!
This indicated that aside from exchanging rewards through increasing favorability with the system, his own rigorous training, comprehension, and breakthroughs in actual combat could also enhance his skill levels!
If combat skills worked this way, life skills likely followed the same principle.
He was fully capable of investing significant time and effort to raise his [Basic Navigation] to a higher level, even becoming a first-rate navigator. However, he felt it was unnecessary.
On one hand, he clearly knew that the destined genius navigator—Nami—would eventually join the crew. She was an irreplaceable professional. On the other hand, and more importantly, what Ralph truly desired deep down was to become a powerful figure in this world.
Mastering advanced navigation knowledge would consume a large amount of time that he could spend training his combat skills.
In this world where strength reigns supreme, wealth and fame are meaningless before absolute power. Only one's own strength provides the true foundation for survival.
Speaking of which, Ralph finally found the opportunity to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind as he turned his gaze toward Zoro, who was sitting by the ship's railing, polishing his swords.
"Hey, Zoro," Ralph walked over to him. "How did the great Pirate Hunter Zoro willingly join a pirate crew?"
At Ralph's question, Zoro's hand paused slightly as he wiped the blade.
His gaze unconsciously drifted toward the straw-hatted figure rolling around on the deck from hunger, lost in thought for a moment. For some reason, a faint, almost imperceptible blush appeared on his usually fierce face.
Ralph's heart immediately sank with shock and anger:
What the hell! What's with this green-haired guy?! Why is he blushing?! Could he actually have feelings for the female version of Luffy...?
He immediately pressed in an unfriendly tone: "Spit it out, why are you blushing?"
Zoro snapped back to reality, seeming to realize his own awkwardness. He coughed a couple of times, forced his expression back to its usual cool composure, and said: "Ahem! No particular reason."
He sheathed his Wado Ichimonji with a clear, sharp sound, his gaze becoming firm and pure once again.
"I just think it's remarkable for a girl to boldly and unhesitatingly declare 'I'm going to become the Pirate King'..." His tone was plain but carried undeniable seriousness. "That takes tremendous courage and unwavering conviction. Anyway, her reason for going to sea doesn't conflict with my goals, so I decided to join. It's that simple."
Hearing this, Ralph thought it over and began to understand.
Zoro was probably... reminded of his childhood friend Kuina, who was equally talented and dreamed of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, but unfortunately met her end on the grand staircase.
Both were girls, both carrying grand dreams that seemed distant and even laughable to the world.
In Luffy's pure, passionate, and unwavering eyes and declaration, Zoro might have seen Kuina's shadow from back then... that unfinished dream and regret finding some form of support and continuation in this moment.
This... this is dangerous!
Alarm bells rang loudly in Ralph's mind. This complex emotion mixed with nostalgia and longing far exceeded ordinary camaraderie.
Then Zoro turned the tables on Ralph. Crossing his arms, he looked at Ralph with a hint of teasing: "What about you? Why are you so determined to follow this crazy girl? Don't tell me it's also for the One Piece."
Ralph took a deep breath and declared without any hesitation, openly and even with a hint of pride:
"I love Lufia!"
His voice was clear and firm, echoing across the deck, making even the "playing dead" Luffy perk up an ear.
"Her dream is to become the Pirate King, so my dream is to become 'the Pirate King's man'!" Ralph looked toward Luffy's direction, his gaze tender and focused. "I want to be the one who always stands by her side, supporting her, protecting her, clearing all obstacles for her! That's my dream and my reason!"
This was a blatant declaration of sovereignty! Both for Zoro to hear, and to reaffirm his feelings to Luffy.
Zoro heard this, paused briefly, then seemed to recall something. A knowing yet somewhat sentimental smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he chuckled in understanding.
As for Luffy's reaction... She clutched her growling stomach, rolling halfway across the deck before complaining: "Ralph, you're saying weird things again! I'm starving! Temporary cook! Hurry up and make food!"
Ralph watched Lufia's purely hunger-driven agitation and couldn't help but laugh, the slight jealousy and worry in his heart dissipating considerably. He stood up, brushing off his clothes.
"No problem! The navy barely touched the ingredients on board. Perfect timing—I'll cook a feast to welcome our new crewmate Zoro!"
Just as he turned to head toward the kitchen, his peripheral vision caught something on the sea to their side: a small boat drifting weakly toward them with the waves, slow and powerless.
More notably, a figure lay slumped against the boat's gunwale—a girl with striking orange short hair. Her arms hung limply over the side, swaying with the boat's motion. She appeared critically weak, as if clinging to the last vestiges of life.
Ralph's pupils contracted slightly.
This scene, this appearance... Wasn't this the "Cat Burglar" setting her sights on our ship?
***
T/N: Yooo wtf... Why does this feel like it's going in the direction of becoming a reverse harem (╥﹏╥)
But I have read the reviews, and the tags, and there was no mention of the fic being a Reverse Harem. I just hope the author was messing with us.
But don't you worry, I'm a certified poison tester, I won't let you go through those traumatic texts if they came up in this fic.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧